Dynamic MiniPro vs Bamix Gastro vs Waring Quik Stik Medium

Trying to decide between these 3 immersion blenders, to be used for making tomato sauces and soups. None of them has both of the features I would like most to have, which are (a) removable shaft and (b) pot-immersible shaft longer than 7". Ease of thorough cleaning and light weight are also important. I'm also concerned about all the reports I read online from users of various immersion blender brands about bits of plastic breaking off (I'm a plastic-hater from way back, LOL) so IMHO the more stainless steel the better! From what I've gleaned online about these 3:

Now as for the Bamix Gastro I am totally confused! One part of the Bamix website and KitchenUniverse.com both show the Gastro 200 as having an immersible shaft length of 29 cm, which is a tad less than 11 1/2" (sounds like a 12" shaft to me). They do not give the weight, nor whether the shaft is detachable or not:http://www.bamix.com/gastro-192.html

On the other hand, the Pleasant Hill Grain site describes the Gastro 200 thus: "The shaft of the Bamix Gastro 200 is longer than the Deluxe or Mono, by 2" (total length of 7.5" below the motor housing.) ". This site has the same info: http://www.buybamix.com/Find-Your-Model/

The weight (found elsewhere) is given as either 2.2 or 2.4 lbs. I have found nothing to indicate that the shaft is removeable, so assume that it is fixed. One-year warranty.

Price seems to be either $179.99 (Pleasant HIll, BuyBamix) or $199.99 (KitchenUniverse).

So I am totally confused about the Gastro 200's immersible length!

Also wondering about the shaft-end design. I've read user reviews that say the Gastro scratches the bottom of all their pans. I Iike the "open" shape of the Bamix because it seems easier to clean than the "closed bell" of the Waring and the Dynamic BUT am also wondering if that design tends to spray things around more and/or if the reason users complain about scratching is because the actual sharp blades are able to contact the pan bottom somehow? I've never had an immersion blender before and certainly don't want to damage my pans with one.

Would love feedback/answers from users of any of these 3 so as to help decide. The lack of warranty coverage on the Waring Quik Stik does give me pause, although I would really like the longer shaft length for use in my larger/deeper pots.

Have the bamix and pleasant hill is more correct on measurements -- wonder if the other source counted the handle? Unfortunately, can't easily access now to measure but the shaft is definitely not closer to 12". The shaft is not removable.

I thot waring pro had a few other commercial/industrial models still under $200, with removable longer shaft. I tk that was covered in prior threads here so you might want to search under waring/immersion blender.

Re: scratching, don't tk immersion blenders are meant to scrape/touch the bottom of the pot -- the suction power should pull food up from the bottom so no need to scrape. But i'm still new to the immersion blender so will let others weight in.

First, let me correct an error I made in my OP: the "no warrant for residential/non-commercial use" applies to the Waring Pro, NOT to the Dynamic MiniPro! My bad (too-hasty copypaste, LOL!).

The Dynamic Mini-Pro carries a 1-year parts and labor warranty, no restrictions.

The KitchenAid models were the ones I rejected because of all the complaints about the plastic components shredding off into food and also (equally bad) about the extreme difficulty of getting it 100% clean because of poor design. A sample:

"The plastic disc between the blade and the housing came loose and got caught in the blades chopping some of the plastic into my smoothie which I unknowingly drank. When I asked Sur La Table if that part could be replaced I saw that their demo's disc was also loose and had been sheared by the blade."

"I blended some fruits for my baby and I noticed dark particles in the food. They were plastic. I looked inside the metal shaft and saw that there was a plastic circle that came off and got chopped off during the blending. "

"The rubber around the blade came off into my soup. It actually shredded itself into my soup. "

"whilst I was cleaning the hand blender, I noticed that there was a plastic disc above the cutting blades, which had pieces missing from it! When I examined the blender more closely, each time I pushed the plastic disc up, it just kept falling down on the blade area each time."

"There are lots of places for food to get stuck inside the blender."

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to clean food that gets beneath the plastic disc under rotating knife! I've spent 50min cleaning remains of mayo I made, using hot water, soap, and even paper to reach under the disc, and still there was more coming out when disc is pushed down"

"the rubber seal around the blade shaft came loose and allows food to get in underneath. Its impossible to clean now so I can't use it"

"Terrible. Gunk gets stuck in the shaft, you can't clean it. But it comes out in your food. I had to throw mine out. "

Either one of these issues would be an instant deal-killer for me. And IMHO just as bad was this information: "I emailed Kitchen Aid for their "one-year hassle-free warranty" and they replied that their warranty policy is based on the manufacture date of the product, not the date of purchase." If true, that would eliminate anything made by KA as far as I'm concerned. I had an Artisan mixer that died after 6 years of light use (5 year warranty) and so thus far I'm not overly impressed by modern-day KA products.

At this point I am leaning toward the Dynamic MiniPro. However there seem to be 2 models, at least going by the results of searching as "Dynamic Mini Pro": the MX050 and the MX070. The Dynamic website shows one MiniPro, the MX050. But Chefmall, BakeDeco and Amazon show the model # as MX070. The specs SEEM the same but why there are different model numbers I have no idea.

But even that one says it is for "light" and "small" jobs so I'm wondering if it has the same issue as Bewley's Bamix (not enough oomph to really puree stuff).

What looks like it does have more than enough power needed, is the Dynamic Junior Plus BUT that is considerably more expensive ($400) and heavier (4.5 lbs) -- twice the price and weight! Not a sensible option.

Looking over the specs, I would rather compromise on the length than the quality or the detachability. And from what I have read, the bottom of the IB isn't supposed to touch the bottom of the pan anyway, so the 6.5" or 7" shaft would probably be a better idea anyhow...

Would love to hear more feedback though, especially from anyone who has one of the Dynamic models (and are they really made in France)?

Just FYI, I contacted Dynamic via email to ask about the model #s and also where they are made.The model MX050 is the Euro model designation, and the MX070 is the American model of the same unit. All Dynamic products are made in France.

We are now discussing capacity of the MiniPro, especially wattage which I see is the same as the Bamix Gastro (200 watts top end). BUT the Dynamic Junior which is twice the price and weight, is also 200 watts which seems counterintuitive (one would think the Junior would have more oomph since it is rated at a higher capacity as far as what it can handle). I am going to ask about that too.

The Dynamic rep is very helpful, what a pleasure to be able to get prompt and useful replies to inquiries instead of the typical boilerplate customer service nonsense too often seen.

Please let us know what you end up with and if IT has any cleaning issues. There's always going to be a spinning shaft that mates to the external shaft and has some kind of seal...

I use my KA like crazy and have not had an issue with the bit in question, but I am familiar with the annoying cleaning issue it creates. I zizz mine in a container of soapy water for a bit and that seems to work quite well. For ~$50 vs. $200-400, I can deal.

Another excellent reply from Dynamic, explaining that although the wattage is the same (200) in the two models (MiniPro and Junior) there are other differences that make the Junior series able to handle bigger and heavier jobs. Also an explanation that the ratings and capacities shown in ads for almost all immersion blenders are based on R&D numbers and are NOT a result of testing in real-world conditions "under load". That is why the $180-range models, including the MiniPro and the Bamix, can only handle up to 4 qts (1 gallon) of soup, sauce, etc, at a time and still perform as expected. In order to get the kind of performance that consumers probably expect from an immersion blender for heavier jobs (such as pureeing a vegetable soup for instance) or for use in a pot larger than 4 qts, the larger/heavier/$400 range models are what's really needed.

The MiniPro blades are interchangeable and thus can be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned (unlike the KA).

The Dynamic choices with removeable shafts are the MiniPro ($180, 2.2 lbs, max capacity 4 4 qts/1 gal real-world) and the Junior Plus (I have found prices ranging from $395 to $495 depending on retailer; 4.5 lbs; blade seems to be removeable according to this blowuphttp://www.dynamicmixersusa.com/produ...; real-world capacity will handle 2 gallons/6-8 qt pots).

Big difference in weight and price between the two. I need to seriously weigh the amount of use it will get in my kitchen, vs its performance when I need to use it in more than 4 qts of soup or sauce (which will be its primary function). Tough call. Also the most reputable of Dynamic's retailers do NOT carry the Junior Plus model for some reason. :-/

EDITED TO ADD: More great info from Dynamic re: difference between IBs having detachable vs fixed shafts: "Even though detachable mixers and non-detachable mixers in the same series show equal power, they are not. Detachable mixers have a variable speed dial and are run through a coupler or a piece that connects the motor and shaft. These two things affect power and reduce it by about 20%." (in real world conditions)

So in other words an IB that has a single speed and a fixed (non detachable) shaft will be producing the maximum power that it is rated at. If you add a variable speed and/or a detachable shaft, either of those will reduce the actual "oomph" of the IB by up to 20% from what the motor itself is rated at.

I just got a MiniPro (only used it twice so far) and I really like it. I would recommend it for somebody looking for a higher-quality all-metal immersion blender.

My wife had a ~$30 200W plastic immersion blender that we were making baby food with. We were concerned about the plastic and also wanted something higher quality since we were using it a lot.

We first got a Waring WSB33 for $63 on Amazon. It doesn't have a detachable shaft and had noticeably less power. Even for making baby food in the home the power wasn't cutting it, so I have no idea what a real restaurant would do with such a thing. Make salad dressing? Anyway, don't get it.

Then I got the MiniPro. Got a super good deal for about $130. It's listed at 200W just like our old plastic one but it "feels" about twice as powerful when using it. What a difference! High speed is quite high, so I'm glad we got the one with the variable speed. When washing or for doing very thin liquids, you want the lower power to avoid splashing.

The main disadvantage is that it smells very strongly of ozone when in use. This is probably from the brushes in the motor sparking. Ozone is essentially smog, smells weird, and isn't that great for you.

Our old plastic blender was sealed so any internal smells never escaped. This also means that it can overheat very easily (which I've done, I'm surprised it still works). The Dynamic has a fan that blows air through it, so you can probably use it forever without overheating. But the disadvantage is the smell. I think I would always use it under the stove vent hood, which is sort of a bummer.

It comes with different blades but it's inconvenient to change them. I would likely not bother putting the batter blade on, for example, just to do a batch of batter. I assume restaurants would either be making so much at one time it wouldn't matter, or they would get different foot assemblies or even totally different blenders for the different tasks.